good morning. fiasco on the field. outrage over another controversial game-ending call by nfl replacement refs. >> who do they give it to? >> seahawks win in the most bizarre finish you'll ever see! >> as the calls get worsend tempers flair, can the fans and league take much more? one-on-one, president obama on the battle over how to fix our nation's schools. >> can you really say that teachers unions aren't slowing the pace of reform? >> this morning the president's revealing answer. and say it ain't so. what could be devastating news for a lot of people who love bacon. according to industry experts, a world shortage of bacon is under

avoidable today, tuesday, september 25th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. i'm savannah guthrie. we've drawn al roker because we have a plate of bacon right here. >> called in the paramedics because he basicalically passed when he heard there might be a shortage of bacon. experts say that this is a done deal, that because of the brought affecting soybeans and corn, crops, the feed for pigs has dried up, and we're going to be paying a lot of money for bacon a year from now. >> as one member of our crew just said, we better pig out right now. >> do we know which member of the crew that was? >> exactly. a little more pigskin news this

morning. >> good one. >> meantime, the firestorm over using replacement firms in the nfl, thus the pigskin reference reaching a fever pitch this morning with the extremely controversial call, a game-deciding call in last night's matchup between seattle and green bay. here's how it went down. packers leading 12-7. seattle tries a hail mary. it appears to be intercepted, but the refs ruled it a touchdown, reviewed it and upheld it. >> people are voicing their outrage, to put it politely, on twitter. one reporter called it one of the great disgraces in nfl history. we're going to talk to him straight ahead. >> also, a story that reveals the highs and lows of high school life. a 16-year-old high schooler elected to the homecoming court as a cruel prank, but she's now turning the tables on her tormenters saying what they did will only make her stronger. we'll be hearing from her. and then a bit later on. do you have a favorite child, and would you ever admit it?

we want you to head to our website and let us know because we'll talk about this very issue with today's professionals. >> one father blogged about this, admitting he did have a favorite child, and then saying that most parents do, in fact. >> and a lot of people feel that they were their parent's favorites so lots to discuss with the professors. present company excluded. >> no, no, i know. that just said a thousand words right there. let's begin with the debacle that has become the referee lockout in the national football league. stephanie gosk is at metlife stadium, home to the giants and jets. stephanie, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. well, even before last night's controversy, the nfl is already investigating two coaches from sunday night's game for breaking a cardinal rule in sports. they grabbed the refs. then came last night's game, another primetime problem for the nfl. with time left for just one play and down by five points, the seattle seahawks tossed a hail mary pass into the end zone. there was a fight for the ball.

who had it? it was up to the refs to decide. >> touchdown! >> reporter: announcers thought replay showed that the packers had intercepted the ball, which would have given green bay the win. >> after further review, the call on the field stands, touchdown. game is over. >> seahawks win in the most bizarre finish you'll ever see! >> reporter: the seahawks were given the win, and the growing firestorm around the nfl replacement officials exploded. >> i don't like the way this game finished. i have a bad taste in my mouth. >> reporter: nbc's peter king tweeted one of the great disgraces in nfl history. the second primetime problem in as many nights. >> oh, baby. good, and the patriots are saying no! >> reporter: the final play of the sunday night football game between the patriots and ravens was a field goal, good. new england loses by one point.

coach bill belichick wanted a review but he couldn't even get a response from the replacement refs, and then belichick did something that's off limits for every athlete, parent and coach, from youth football to the nfl. he grabbed the official on national tv. >> oh, boy. >> well, that's a few bucks. >> reporter: with the real nfl officials locked out and negotiations over pensions and salaries stalled the frustration with their less experienced replacements on the field is growing. >> there are too many occasions where they don't know what to do. they don't know what penalty to call, don't know how many yards to mark off or where to put the ball. they don't know what to do next >> reporter: patriots/ravens game was a mess. multiple fights broke out before penalty flags were thrown. >> unsportsman like conduct defense. >> reporter: although it wasn't captured on camera, ravens head coach harbaugh is reportedly being investigated for bumping a ref after he tried to get a time-out in the fourth quarter. harbaugh got flagged for

unsportsmanlike conduct, sparking an angry chant in the stands. >> that's the loudest manure chant i've ever heard. >> what's happening is certain types of penalties aren't being called and it's causing players to get frustrated and coaches to get frustrated. this is an emotional game, and it starts to spill over. >> reporter: the chaos led the players association to write a letter to nfl owners that didn't mince its words. your decision of lock out officials with more than 1,500 years of collective nfl experience has led to a deterioration of order, safety and integrity. the nfl says the sticking point with the officials union is over how to improve officiating, but nbc's peter king reports that they are hung up over $3.3 million in pensions, a drop in the bucket when you consider the nfl pulls in $9.3 billion last year alone. as for the two coaches, belichick and harbaugh. they are waiting to find out whether they will be levied fines. matt. >> stephanie gosk on this story

this morning. stephanie, thank you very much. let's bring in nbc's peter king. he tweeted last night's ending of the game was one of the great disgraces in nfl history. peter, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> strong letter to follow. what do you really think? >> well, i mean, it was only a matter of time before something like last night happened, matt, because this -- they don't even have the cream of the second stringers on the field. these officials, many of them are either retired or replace officials from some level of college football. there are some high school officials here. this -- this was bound to happen, and the shame of it is for the nfl is we've just seen one of the great months of nfl history, and all anyone is talking about is the officiating. >> let's get to the bigger picture. i mean, if an official or a referee is doing a great job, generally that person disappears into the game. these guys might as we will have

stripes on one side of their shirts and a huge neon target on the other. they are impacting games in very negative ways. how long can it go on? >> i think last night reached a critical mass, matt. i think there's no question that the league has to swallow its pride and do something that commissioner roger goodell simply doesn't want to do, and that is to give in more on negotiations than he's had to do, with the tv partners or players as a whole. >> look at the fallout from this, peter. it's a little like having a substitute teacher in a classroom where the kids immediately challenge that person and push the envelope. we're seeing that with not only players on the field with these temporary refs but also with coaches. >> no question about it. and, matt, you know, i know from covering this league for 28 years now, that one of the things that almost every team does is they have scouting reports on officials. they try to take advantage of the calls that certain officiating crews make more than

others, and so clearly what they are doing is they are trying to get away with more. the players are trying to get away with more. the coaches are trying to intimidate the officials more. >> right. >> there was an incident in the preseason where a coach picked up a flag on a legitimate foul because he was being berated by a head coach, and that just simply cannot stand. >> your message to commissioner goodell is pick up the phone, get this done? >> absolutely. i think that's the message of 1,800 players in the nfl, the message of all of the coaching staffs. i think they have to give in on a major issue like pension. >> right. >> and they have got to get this settled this week. >> peter king. peter, thanks for your perspective. we appreciate it. >> thank you, matt. we want to get a check of the day's other top stories. natalie morales is over at the news desk. >> good morning, savannah and matt. good morning, everyone. a show of force in iran as a semi-official state news agency reports that the country's military has test-fired missiles

in the strait of hormuz capable of sinking a warship. the country's new missile-carrying drone effectively puts much of the middle east in its firing range, including israel. this as president mahmoud ahmadinejad is stoking anger with inflammatory remarks against israel ahead of his u.n. speech on wednesday. meantime this morning, president obama is addressing the united nations as the campaign spotlight turns to international affairs. both he and republican rival mitt romney speak at the clinton global initiative's annual meeting today in nearly back-to-back speeches. hot topics for both. the u.s. response to anti-american protests across the muslim world, and we'll have more on this coming up. now let's head to wall street and cnbc's courtney reagan at the new york stock exchange. do tell us more about the global bacon shortage on the way because al is very concerned this morning. he can't function. >> reporter: as are a number of others. this could be very true. if you're a bacon lover, start

hoarding it now. according to britain's national pig association, a worldwide shortage of pork and bacon next year is unavoidable. it's a result of the drought that hit much of the country this year which damaged the crops used to feed the pigs, so the group predicts that the number of slaughtered pigs could fall by 10% in the second half of next year, and that could cause prices to double in some areas. natalie? >> start stocking up now. courtney reagan, thanks. what better way to show a little school spirit than to boogie down "gangnam style." the ohio state marching band did their horse dance inspired by psy's mega hit and youtube video. ♪ ohio university, of course,

matt's alma mater so he'll take all the credit for that performance. >> marching 110, most entertaining band in the land, natalie. >> they should be here in the plaza and you do a little "gangnam style." >> call them in. call them in. >> all right. let's do this. >> i'll do it. >> all right. >> you heard it. >> they won't come here. >> they will now. let's show you the weather and show you what we've got. a low pressure system area and low front bringing lots of rain into the mid-section of the country with the cold front dropping down. a risk of strong storms from eastern missouri all the way to southern indiana, large hail and damage willing winds, a lot of rain. 1 to 3 inches stretching south of cleveland all the way down to independence, missouri. 'sat's what's going on around good morning. it will turn out to be a nice day. tablatures warming up quickly. we will make it up to seven for today.

and that's your latest weather. savannah? >> all right, al. president obama, governor romney both in new york city today to speak at the clinton global initiative, and the president will also deliver an address to the united nations general assembly. governor romney will drop by nbc's education nation summit. chuck todd is nbc's political director, chief white house correspondent. you come with your telestrator today. >> i do, i do. >> let's talk about the state of the union in terms of the battleground map. we know 270 is the magic number. >> right. >> where do things stand? >> right now we have the president at 243 here, and what that means is we've got states adding up 243 electoral votes. it 70, of course, is the magic number. what we've recently moved was the state of iowa, and that put him at 243.

what's interesting here, savannah. he now needs only a couple of states, a couple of the big states, big three that i talk about all the time, ohio, florida, virginia, just a couple of ways and he gets over the finish line. >> we talk about ohio. it's usually a bellwether, a couple of scenarios to run through here. i think this one shows if president obama takes ohio. >> we do. let me show you what happens when we give him ohio, watch the number change, and watch how close he gets to 220. gets him to 261 here. and now that means what? there's about four different scenarios, let me clean the map up here. four different scenarios now, savannah, that gets him to 270, but let's give romney the benefit of the doubt and assume that in the order of the other remaining eight states, florida, north carolina, wisconsin, though who knows now with packer fans how they will feel and whether they even show up to vote. >> had to get the football in. >> colorado, upset this them. you get him to 264 and leads up, and people kept asking me, what is this year's florida? what is this year's ohio? when you go through any

scenario, i get -- i come to the state of virginia. virginia in 2008 was the state that most closely matched the national number. it is the state that is sort of right there on the edge. the president has a little bit of a lead but it seems to match where he is in the national numbers. >> in 2008 virginia's most closely matched where the country added up, right? >> 53/47, obama over mccain was basically 53/47 in the state of virginia. virginia is interesting, a state that economically is doing very well. a lot of government workers in northern virginia. a minority population that might turn out in bigger numbers, more african-american population and a growing hispanic population and southern roots that should help romney but that combination makes it the ultimate swing state. it's this year's florida or ohio. >> florida still matters very quickly. >> matters big, and if some other president wins it, check mate. no path without florida. you go through all the scenarios and for mitt romney, there's no path. if he's going to cede ohio. that's what's gone on, the move of ohio where romney cannot

connect with white working voters, doing a big bus trip. the move of ohio, he has to win florida and wisconshich i virgi. >> thanks very much. back it matt. the international monetary fund is calling for urgent action from lawmakers here in the u.s. and europe to turn around the global economy. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell recently sat down with her. andrea, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, matt. thank you. she is arguably the most powerful woman in the world, a rock star of international finance and in her quiet style she politely disagrees. >> i'm not a rock star. >> kristine lagarde of france is the first woman to lead the international monetary fund. today's crisis is europe, her own backyard. do you think we'll face another

crisis such as the meltdown that first precipitated all of this? >> i would like to note that for the first time in the last six years we have had a better summer, and we have had a better september, if i may say, so i think we need to keep that momentum. >> lagarde took over the imf after her predecessor dominique strauss-kahn was forced out due to a personal sex scandal. tall, imposing and chicly feminine in that french way, lagarde is known for her distinctive style, both high fashion and functional. landing her in "vogue" magazine and in the front row of paris fashion week, portrayed in the hbo movie about the financial crisis "too big to fail." >> you allowed it to fail. it was a horrifying mistake. >> reporter: behind closed doors she's known for her straight-talking charm. even now, with all of your power and prominence, do you find that there are men in finance or in

government who treat you in a patronizing way? >> oh, yeah, yeah. >> reporter: really? >> of course. >> reporter: tell us who. >> no. i don't want to embarrass them, but the best defense when that happens is a very good and solid sense of humor because at the end of the day they are human beings as well. they have wives. they have daughters. >> reporter: born and raised in france, she became a member of her country's national synchronized swimming team. >> the coach used to say when it's tough, grit your teeth and smile. i do that very often. i've done it a lot in my life >> reporter: she also knows america, having come to high school in the u.s. as an exchange student, and rising to the top of a giant u.s. law firm before going home to france to be minister of finance. there's a lot of talk in our country and around the world among women having it all. you've raised two children. you also ran a major american law firm. what is the secret?

>> i think can you not have it all at the same time. i think you can in a way have it all as long as you can afford to be patient and not have it all at the same time. you have to accept that there will be failures. >> reporter: now overseeing the global economy, she says the primary threat to the u.s. recovery is the fiscal cliff, the combination of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts looming in january that could stop the economy cold if congress and the white house failed to act. >> if i was to sort of give a piece of very humble and modest advice, it would be focused on the very dear consequences that could result from the fiscal cliff actually resulting in a 4% deficit reduction. this is something that is very, very serious. >> reporter: she sees her job as more than just euros and dollars lending her considerable cashe to honor democracy activist aung

san suu kyi and she sees herself helping generations to come. >> it's given me a difficult responsibility because i know that a lot of women, younger women, but also sometimes much more senior women, will be at me and say we can do it. she can do it, so we can do it. >> reporter: she has four years left in her term, trying to keep the world safe from default, but already she's being talked about as a future first woman president of france. >> a little pressure on her shoulders, mo question. >> reporter: i'll say. >> thank you very much. still to come, a mean prank that's become a heartwarming story. how one town is rallying around a high schooler named to her homecoming court as a joke, but first this is "today" on n

. just ahead, president obama on education and what he was

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hormel natural choice sandwich meats. one-hundred percent natural. no preservatives. thanks for sending us in there with her. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. johns hopkins university is helping a program by awarding grant money to baltimore elementary schools. the national science foundation will award the funds over a five-year period and partnership with the schools. it will help 1300 students in grades three through five improve science and math education. here is sarah caldwell and

traffic pulse 11. >> there is a busy ride out there. if you're traveling in the next few minutes, delays forming on southbound 795. they form from white marsh and continue down to the beltway. reid 7, philadelphia road and ridge road, watch for an accident in rosedale. 22 miles per hour on the west side outer loop. eastbound i-70 from 32 all way towards 29, expect delays. another one coming in on westbound 100 and oakwood road, creating a big backup approaching route 10. six miles per hour there. pretty heavy south of this exit. south of the beltway or these, these delays continue from white marsh down to the 895 split. tony, over to you. >> we are off to a nice start.

plenty of sunshine out there. winds have shifted to the southwest. 48 in jarrettsville. you want to take in light jacket. it will be milder, with high temperatures at 71. off and on rainshowers tomorrow.

7:30 now on a tuesday morning, september 25th, 2012. nice morning here in the northeast. meanwhile inside studio 1a time for the old wind machine, but enough about savannah. we have got -- >> oh, you did not! >> we've got day two of "ask away today." that's the wind machine filled with questions. i'm going to jump in there in a couple minutes, pick a couple out and quiz my companions. >> i've got a question for. why are you so mean? >> i'm not mean. >> what's wrong with you? >> the nfl refs have me on the edge. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. also ahead, your interview with the president. >> we talked about education and the problems facing our nation's schools and also revealed what he was like as a young student

and how he compares in the classroom to his own daughters sasha and malia. lots to hear from the president coming up. >> look forward to that. also ahead, today's professionals. we'll get their takes on the referee situation in the nfl that so many people are talking about. a new list of america's dirtiest cities as well. might want to think for the next half hour which city just claimed that title. >> okay. and meantime, homecoming season, of course, fast approaching at high schools across the country, and in one michigan town it's led to a painful prank on a young girl, but to her surprise the community is now rallying around her. nbc's kevin tibbles is in west branch, michigan with the story this morning. kevin, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, high school sophomore whitney kopp says she was surprised when fellow classmates voted her on to the school's homecoming court, but she adds it's what happened afterwards that has broken her heart. 16-year-old whitney kopp has

learned firsthand the lows and highs of high school. never considered herself part of the in crowd so she was surprised students had voted her to the homecoming court. >> never thought i would be part of it because really it's just for like the big popular people. >> reporter: but the sophomore's happiness turned to humiliation when some students told her it was all a cruel joke. >> some kids thought it would be funny to put me in there as a joke to make fun of me. >> reporter: it hurt because whitney says a few years back she was the target of bullies. >> one year some kids decided it would be funny to kick me in my shins with steel-toed boots because i was different. >> reporter: so when this happened, it brought back painful memories. >> you know, i felt like i wasn't worthy, like why even be a part of this community, this world, if -- if i'm just going to be tossed around like basically a piece of trash? >> reporter: whitney's mom told her one way to get back at the bullies was to turn the tables, to persevere and go to the dance. >> it takes a lot of guts, a lot of guts to do that. >> reporter: and she's going to

do. >> and she's going to do it. >> reporter: many in this rural northern michigan town agreed, and they came together. a local hairdresser is doing her hair for free. >> here's this bright young girl, very pretty, you know why? why would anyone pick on her? >> reporter: and her gown has been donated. >> i honestly hope that the kids will take this and kind of learn from it. >> reporter: student jade cameron who attends a different school couldn't believe what whitney has endured. >> it's horrible. it just makes me mad because it's not fair. you don't do that to someone. >> reporter: a facebook page set up to support whitney has gotten thousands of likes with its stop bullying message. >> maybe you're showing the bullies you're better. >> i'm excited to go because i can prove everyone wrong and say, you know, i'm not this joke that you thought i was. you guys doing that made me stronger, and i've got more self-esteem than what i had.

>> reporter: an investigation into all of this is under way at the school, and the superintendent says all school officials are very proud of whitney and all the other members of the homecoming court, and let's just hope whitney has a great time at the dance this weekend. savannah. >> we sure hope so. kevin tibbles in west branch, michigan. thank you. 34 minutes past the hour. here's matt. to the death of the new panda cup at the national zoo in washington, d.c. it lived for only six days, and now zoo officials are trying to figure out why. nbc's an thompson is there. ann, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. behind me you can see the cup's father. that is him showing off eating his breakfast. the lab results will not be back until the end of next week with you the initial examination shed a couple of things. found fluid in the cub's abdomen and found indications of liver problems, all issues that turn joy to sorrow here.

this 2-month-old panda born and thriving at the san diego zoo is what they hoped for at the national zoo when its panda was born last week. >> these bears are so critically endangered that every panda cub is important. >> reporter: but on sunday zookeepers heard the cub's mother cry in distress. the cub, four ounces, the size of a stick of butter, was dead. for years zookeepers have tried to help her conceive. the odds are low and the mortality rate in captivity is high, 18%. >> they are an endangered species so having the captive population is very important for the wild population. >> reporter: today, only 1,600 giant pandas live in the wild in central and southern china, but whether free or in captivity, mating is not easy for these

charismatic creatures. they are by nature loners, living on their own, and the females are only able to get pregnant once a year, in a short fertility window, lasting just 24 to 72 hours. many zoos use artificial insemination. >> very intensive effort because it's such a short window that you have to get the female pregnant, and so it is a very intensive effort. we work long hours during that time, and we monitor hormones and behavior and all of that to try to accomplish a pregnancy. ? in just a week of life the female cub clearly touched many. a short lived symbol of hope for a threatened species. now tian tian as you can see is working on his breakfast, typical behavior, pretty oblivious. don't really have a role other than in the initial conception -- any role in child-rearing. as far as mei jong goes, under

24-hour observation. the keeper says she's begun to eat and interact with them, and she has been cradling a plastic toy ever since her cub died. matt. >> that's a sad story, matt. >> appreciate that. let's get a check of the weather now with al. >> thanks so much. and as we show you what's happening with today's weather. we've got our "ask away today." guess we're not going to do that. temperature departures. out west. lack at how warm it is. great falls 83, kansas city 84 degrees. am littlea 11 degrees above normal while the rest of the country with cooler than usual temperatures, here into the northeast and new england. 50s in the upper mississippi river valley. awfully toasty in the southwest as well. as far as your sky conditions are concerned, gorgeous day up and down the eastern seaboard. slight risk of strong storms in the mid-mississippi river valley, more seasonal conditions in the pacific northwest and heat conditions through the southwest. a little cooler today in las

90gas with the high of only 90 >> it will turn out to be a pretty nice afternoon. a mixture of sun and clouds. high temperature into the low to mid 70's. and that's your latest weather. don't forget. get the weather any time you need it. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? >> thank you very much. up next, savannah talks to president obama about the state of our nation's schools and what he was like as a student. that's right after this. flu protection with a 90% smaller needle. a 90% smaller needle. announcing fluzone intradermal vaccine,

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back at 7:41. this morning on education nation today, the president's perspective. i sat down with president obama as he campaigned in wisconsin over the weekend, and we began by talking about the recent teachers strike in his hometown of chicago which pits the teachers union against his

former chief of staff, chicago mayor rahm emanuel. there was a leading reform advocate who said this shows it is a new day for democrats. they are no longer kowtowing to the unions. is that how you see it? >> you know, that's not how i see it. what i see is that all across the country people want results. it was very important, i think, for mayor emanuel to say let's step up our game, and it was important for the teachers unions also to say let's make sure we're not just blaming teachers for a lot of big problems out there. let's make sure we've got the resources, so i'm glad it was resolved, but i do think that from the perspective of democrats we can't just sit on the status quo or say that money's the only issue. reform is important also. >> mitt romney said that president obama has chosen his side, sighing with the unions and another time last spring he said he can't talk up reform while indulging in groups that

block it. >> well, you know, i think governor romney and a number of folks try to politicized the issue and do a lot of teacher-bashing. when i meet teachers all across the country, so devoted and dedicated to their kids, and what we've tried to do is actually break through this left-right, conservative -- liberal gridlock. >> can you really say that teachers unions aren't slowing the pace of reform? >> you know, i just really get frustrated when i hear teacher-bashing as evidence of reform. my sister is a former teacher, and i can tell you that they work so hard. they are putting money out of their own pockets in the classroom every single day. they are not doing it for the patients and, you know, what is absolutely true is if we've got a bad teacher, we should be able to train them to get better, and if they can't get better, they should be able to get fired. >> i'm sure you could recite the statistics by heart. american students 25th in math.

>> yeah. >> 17th in science. 14th in reading, and yet the u.s. spends just about as much as any other country per pupil. people are wondering what are we spending our money on then? >> well, you know, part of the problem we've got is we've got a very diverse country compared to some of the smaller countries where all the kids are coming to school pretty well prepared. they are not hungry. they are not poor. in our country, you know, we've got poor kids and some kids who have deep troubles at home, but there's no doubt that we can step up our game, and this is a big argument and a big difference that i've got with governor romney in this election, because they talk a good game about reform, but when you actually look at their budgets, they are talking about slashing our investment in education by 20%, 25%. we've already seen 300,000 teachers that have been fired across the country, and as a consequence class sizes have gone up by 5%. >> let me ask you about no child left behind.

the administration has granted waivers to states because congress hasn't amended the law, allows them to not have as rigorous standards. because of those waivers in some states, states are permitted to have different proficiency standards by race. the bottom line is we have a situation in america in 2012 where you have african-americans expected not to reach the same level of proficiency at whits w. on a gut level, does that bother you? >> the initial premise behind no child left behind is all kids have to learn and because it was underresourced and kids coming into school, a lot of minority kids were coming into school already behind, the schools were not going to be meeting these standards, and so what we've said to schools is you've got to continue to keep the high standards, but we are going to measure growth. we're still going to keep track of what you're doing with each group, and you're not going to have an excuse to do really well

with white kids, let's say, and the plaque and hispanic kids aren't doing as well, but you average it out and meet something. we're still going to disaggregate the information about black, white and hispanic kids to make sure that everybody is moving. >> before i let you go. you got in some hot water at home i heard a while back when you let the world know that malia had gotten a "c" on a science test. that got me thinking. have you ever failed a test? >> oh, yes. >> really? >> absolutely. >> you know, i would say i was a mediocre student until i got to college. i -- i goofed off way too much. malia and sasha are so far ahead of me, basically in all respects. they are just better people than i was at their age, and -- and they are doing wonderfully. you know, i couldn't be prouder of them. i will say that at least at the school they are at, they are getting a lot more homework than i did when i was that age. they seem to be working deep into the night, you know. i didn't study that hard until

the night before an exam. >> well, tomorrow, on "today" we'll get governor romney's perspective on the state of education in america. coming up next, "ask away today." matt enters our booth to grab your questions right after this. improve our schools... o ...what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ...nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. in absolute perfect physical condition and i had a heart attack right out of the clear blue... i'm on an aspirin regimen... and i take bayer chewables. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. he's my success story. [ laughs ]

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and redeem them right at checkout whenever something catches your eye. sign up in-store or online; it's instant points and endless rewards. at the corner of happy and healthy. [ female announcer ] some prescriptions are not eligible to earn points. restrictions apply. see website for details. back now at 7:50. we hope matt isn't claustrophobic. "ask away today." matt is in the machine grabbing questions. >> some of those questions are going places. >> not that one. >> all right. come on down. >> nice. >> i like those glasses. >> trade the safety goggles for my reading glasses here. >> all right. >> ask away. >> from our esteemed viewers, these questions. >> yeah. >> first one, this is for you, al. what were you like when you were a kid in. >> i was a nerd. i was -- i was on the a-v squad

in high school, got to thread the projector, do the film strips. i'm the kid that would sit on the stoop with my friends, who's faster, the flash or superman? >> who won back then? >> superman. >> okay. this one from twitter handle samanthaling, i think. if you could spend the day with or interview one living or past person, who would you pick? >> want to do that one, nat? >> a good miss america question. >> come right to me first. >> i'll just say george clooney, you know. everything george clooney, i like that. >> how deep. >> wow. >> savannah? >> that was natalie's question. >> next one. >> wow. >> do any of the hosts have a current or previous pet that they have loved like a member of their family. >> my dog now, absolutely. >> you just adopted a new dog.

>> just got a rescue dog pepper. >> more about pepper coming up in the third hour. >> savannah. >> yes. >> what is your weirdest craving? >> oh, well, weirdest craving. >> crackers and cheese, that kind of girl. >> crackers and cheese and peanut butter. peanut butter and i broke up in february. i would take one scoop, two or three and hi to break up with peanut butter. i don't know if it's weird. >> machine, the questions sometimes get stuck in your pockets in here. i don't know how that happens. >> this one also for you, savannah. can you lick your elbow? >> i've never tried. >> shall i try it? >> sure. >> be careful. >> let me back to you on that one. >> that guy back there wants to see. >> you know what they do -- >> since we didn't see matt

"gangnam style" last friday, does he now how to do it? >> yes. >> we're waiting for the questions. >> you know how to do it. let's go. >> some of these questions. >> there i did it. >> some of these questions were like advice columnists. how can i politely ask my mom to stay in a hotel during her visit. our house is too small and her criticizing is too much? >> change the locks. move. >> coming up, jimmy fallon and the stars of his new comedy creation. >> plus today's professionals after your local news and weather. ♪ keys, keys, keys, keys, keys.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. time for the morning commute with sarah caldwell [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] 3. >> delays around big area. 22 miles per hour all the way to 895. ebenezer road, watch for an accident at nottingham. at the delays on the outer loop northeast side continue all the way towards dulaney valley. slow go on the inner loop from greenspring towards the j.f.x. 20 miles per hour on the west

side outer creating a delay on southbound 795. westbound 100 and oakwood road, watch for a crash. average speed, 16 miles per hour there. let's give you a live view of traffic. update at dulaney valley. going away from us is under traffic. still have the there. -- still heavy there. here is what it looks like ed j.f.x. and ruxton road. tony has your forecast. >> it little chilly, but plenty of sunshine. 51 degrees at the airport. clouds will thicken up over the next 12 hours. a system is coming at us from the west and this will produce rain starting late tonight and during the day tomorrow. during that time, nice conditions. after the chilly start, it will warm up fast. it will become mostly cloudy

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8:00 now on this tuesday morning. it's the 25th of september, 2012. hello and good morning to everyone who is gathered on our plaza on a beautiful fall morning. it is hard to believe. it says that christmas is just three months away. oh, and look. a little baby. al roker is here. >> this is sam mason, paul mason, one of our producers, came over to me and wouldn't go back to his dad. >> oh. >> hey, buddy. >> cute. >> he is so gorgeous. >> this leads very well into our next segment. jimmy fallon is here. he is the executive producer of a new show called "guys with kids." so we're going to talk to jimmy

about that, about his emmy, and we'll meet the cast as well coming up in a few moments. >> nice. >> oh. >> that's nice. a failed wave right off the bat. >> also ahead. today's professionals are in the house. one father has got a lot of people talking. he blogged that he has a favorite child, and then he went further and said, let's face it, if most parents are honest, they will admit that they also have a favorite child. so is it ever okay to admit that? we'll talk to the pros about that and some other subject. >> i've got a new favorite. right here. and we'll also take a look at fall fashions for women that flatter you, no matter what size. you are beautiful. >> this little baby is always in style. >> first a check of the news. natalie morales is over at the news desk. natalie, good morning again. >> good morning again. good morning, everyone. the frustration over replacement referees in the nfl is coming to a head after a controversial call ended last night's game. seattle's quarterback lobbed a hail mary pass towards the end zone, and it looks like green

bay's jennings made a game-saving interception, but after much confusion among the refs the play was ruled a touchdown, and seattle got the victory this. federal a weekend of outrage over bad calls and game delays. meantime, talks between the nfl and referees union remains at an impasse. iran test-fired four missiles today designed to hit warships in the strait of hormuz where the u.s. is currently holding naval maneuvers. meanwhile at the united nations today, president obama is vowing to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and he's challenging the world to confront the root causes of explosive rage in the muslim world. on monday mitt romney criticized u.s. policy towards iran and the middle east, saying it should not be conducted at the mercy of events overseas. wildfires out west have turned deadly as crews battling the destructive blazes in southern california recovered the body of a man who ignored orders to evacuate. dozens of homes have been destroyed as fire fighters battle wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour, fanning the flames.

now for a look at what's trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. a los angeles judge has ordered a review of singer chris brown's community service restraining orders it make sure he didn't violate his probation for the 2009 beating of his then girlfriend rihanna. oddly rihanna tweeted her support, praying for you, baby. my best wishes are with you. the judge gave brown a pass on a failed marijuana test noting that he had a prescription for medical usage and that mandatory drug testing was not part of his sentence. well, this taxi cab fight on the streets of new york is going viral. it's not unusual to see rush hour disputes over who hailed it first, but rarely do they lead to this kind of scuffling. unbelievable. and viewers are flocking to this youtube video. about 80 sheep wandered into a sporting goods store in the austrian alps this weekend. apparently one sheep saw its

reflection in a mirror and went inside while the others followed, like a bunch of sheep, and they left a mess big enough apparently to get lawyers involved before a shepherd was then able to steer them back outside. a little bit confused there. 8:04 right now. let's go back outside to al with a check of your weather. >> yeah, i started counting them. >> oh, dear. >> anyway. hey, it's education nation week, and we happen to have four teachers. you guys say 100 years of experience. >> between the four of us. >> thank god for what you do. >> thank you. >> if you're doing what you are doing, thank your teacher. thanks so much. let's see what we've got as far as your weather today. pick city of the day. huntington, west virginia. wsaz, news channel 3. afternoon showers. temperature about 71 degrees. you can see more wet weather dunn in florida. miami is at over 30 inches of rain above normal for this year so far. heavy thunderstorms now moving

into the mid-mississippi river valley. slight risk of storms there. beautiful day in new england. temperatures in the low 60s. 63 in caribou. 76 in los angeles today, and another spectacular day in seattle with sunshine and 67 degrees. that's what's going on good morning. it will turn out to be a nice day. tablatures warming up quickly. we will make it up to seven for today. and that's your latest weather. savannah? >> all right, al. thank you. coming up next, today's professionals on the nfl referee deb kashls and a father who admitted he does have a favorite

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we're back new at 8:08 with "today's professionals." star jones, donny deutsch and nancy snyderman had here to weigh in on what's happening. >> good morning, matt. >> something that has a lot of people talking in new york city as part of a trial program. 13 new york city schools are offering the morning after contraceptive pill to young ladies as young as 14 without their parent's consent. as i say that, let's remember that schools have been offering condoms for years now. is this the next logical step? nancy? >> parents aren't going to like to hear this, but teenagers are having sex. there are somewhere between 7,000 to 9,000 unwanted pregnancies in new york. people want to be anti-abortion. if you're anti-abortion you should be anti-pregnancy, so you may give parents the wiggies but the reality is it's smashing public policy. >> without the parent's consent.

>> donny? >> the parents can opt out. >> there's paperwork. >> you know, to me, this is not in all the schools. one out of three kids, girls going into ninth grade have had sex already to. me if this stock option unwanted pregnancies, it's a no-brainer, fantastic idea. >> i have problem giving any medication to a child without a parent's specific permission. i know the school systems are not allowed to give out aspirins and tylenol without their parent's permission, so i'm questioning anything that could change the hormonal balance of a child. >> doesn't change the hormonal balance. >> nancy, it does change your hormonal balance. you're the doctor. it changes the balance of a person. >> for 48 hours. the downside is it's not an innocuous drug like you feel lousy for a day. fuel lousy for a couple of days. it is a medical -- >> you would want somebody to be able to do that to your kids. >> i would like to know that my 13-year-old is having sex. the reality is most 13, 14 and

15-year-old are not having conversations with their parent. get real. >> let's move on. as you may have heard, there's some replacement refs working in the nfl these days. it didn't go so well at end of the seattle/packers game last night. back to sunday, the new england patriots playing the ravens. the game comes down to this field goal attempt on the final play. >> justin tucker for the win. whoa baby, just good, and the patriots are saying no! >> the replacement referees say the kick was good. patriots lose. first of all, you all saw the highlight, was the kick good? >> i didn't think so. >> i didn't think so. >> anything that makes the patriots lose, of course i agree with it. are you kidding me. >> was the kick good? >> it was good. >> wait a second, at the end of the game, after that kick, here we're seeing the kick again, judge for yourself, then i want to see you what bill belichick, the head coach of the patriots did right after that call. >> whoops. >> he grabs the referee. >> what penalty should bill

belichick suffer as a result of that move? >> none! >> why? >> because even though i know he's supposed to get fined, the reality is they have subpar officiating. >> that is getting on my nerves. that is getting on my nerves. you do not put your hands on the referee. that is a violation, period. you don't grab at another person, teach him such poor sportsmanship. >> you feel that because it was a bad call he had a right to put your hands on it. >> can i talk at all? >> a ref can't touch anybody. >> i'm deeply in shock. >> give the brother a hand here, okay. come on, al. >> i'm dying here. >> jimmy, stay here for a second. >> i'm going to say something blasphemous and the boys will come and throw me out of the boys club. so what, refs calling these things a disgrace, so what. we have some screwy refs missing

game calls, teacher strikes. give me a break. people think this is the end of the world. >> there's millions and millions of dollars on the line. not just a game. this is big business. >> so refs are blowing calls, great. i'm a huge football fan. i slept well. >> jimmy, if you let bill belichick get away without a major penalty, doesn't it open the door every time someone disagrees with the ref, they grab the ref? >> it's going to be a jerry springer show, people fighting each other. you shouldn't do that. >> thank you. >> he had a hormonal disruption. >> jimmy, stay still. >> a father getting a lot of attention. he went on his blog, and he blogged, he's a father of two, by the way. he admitted that he has a favorite child, and he went further and he said if parents are honest with themselves, they, too, will admit that they have a favorite child. is he right? >> no! >> but we all do. >> do you? >> no. >> first of all, for that parent to say that publicly, i mean, i hate to judge other parents.

>> he should be pilloried. >> we love our children differently, relate to them differently. you love them all the same. you don't have a favorite. >> you can't love them all the same. >> you love them deeply and you would die for them but you love them differently. >> three children. >> a favorite? >> some days, yes. >> big shock. >> i think you don't bring it up at all until you have a few drinks thanksgiving and you go mom always liked you better. >> my mother definitely liked my sister better than she liked me. but my parents -- would you wait. but my feelings aren't hurt because she liked talking to me more, so we do different things for her. >> you have one sister. do you think you were the favorite, or was your sister the favorite? >> by far the favorite. >> really? >> has tim pacted you. >> she's not here so i have to say that. she would say that i was the favorite. >> my sister would say that i'm the favorite, and she's right. >> let's be real.

of course it happens, but you do not write about it. you don't tell people. an internal thing that you hold because children go through different stages in your lives. you communicate with them different. sorry, guys, fess up. >> i have three kids, and i think it's all based on behavior and the title is still up for grabs on this. my decision at 18 years old. >> that's great. >> you've got to wait a little later. >> vote for which one of matt's kids is the best. >> here's the last one, okay? according to -- this is kind of a dubious honor has just been handed out by the people of "travel & leisure" magazine. they have come up with the dirtiest city in america. i'm talking dirty like based on grit, grime and muck, okay? what's technically the difference between dprim agrime

muck? >> grime and muck. >> dirtiest city in america. >> new york city. >> don't say new york. >> no, it's something else. no, no, no, i'm thinking grime and muck. >> denver, mud season. >> anything about the oil spill? >> no. >> boca raton. >> new york city, number one dirtiest city. >> i'll take it anytime, man. >> followed by new orleans. >> yeah. >> after that mardi gras. that's a tough cleanup. >> baltimore. >> b-more is in there. >> los angeles and number five, atlanta. come on, atlanta, can you do better next year. those are your five dirtiest cities. >> chicago not -- chicago's a great city. a plus for chicago. >> people throw things on the street or miss the things, do you pick it up? >> i watched a guy yesterday pour coffee into the mail container. watched him pour -- >> he almost was a garbage can. what's wrong with people? >> do you pick up -- do you call up somebody that doesn't pick up dog poop?

>> you get shot in new york. what's wrong with you people. you all live in a different place than i do. >> oh, my gosh. >> a couple of pieces of business, first of all, we want to know what you think. guys. >> what? >> first of all, it was a bad idea bringing you. you started it. seriously. >> we want to know what you think about if it's okay to say if you have a favorite child. should you ever admit it. go to the website on it, and we'll tell you the real reason jimmy fallon is here because he's got a brand new comedy out called "guys with kids." >> tonight. >> and we'll talk with jimmy and the stars of the show. oh, we have no more time of that. we're back right after this. buying this juicer online was unbelievable. what a bargain! [ female announcer ] sometimes a good deal turns out to be not such a good deal. but bounty gives you value you can see. in this lab demo,

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producer of the new nbc comedy "guys with kids." >> excuse me. how come you don't have changing tables in the bathrooms? >> because this is a bar, and you're not supposed to have children here. >> you know, they have little fake i.d.s if that helps. >> hey, guys. >> hey. how was your date last night? >> oh, man, it was -- >> hey, hey, hey. you went on a date last night i? didn't know about this. >> actually, it was their fourth date. >> really? >> i guess that gary is your best friend now. >> there you go. >> jimmy is here along with the co-stars of the show, anthony anderson, zach cregger and jesse bradford. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> where's the baby slings? >> i don't know. sometimes you wear it because it feels good on their back. >> baby bjorn casual is the look. >> the reason we came up with this idea is because i think i see more guys carrying babies and embracing the role of dad in new york city, one of the

filthiest cities in new york city. they are strapped to them, on the back of their bicycles, all over the place so i had this idea. i said there should be a show called "guys with kids" and the opening shot should be them watching a game at the bar and when the knicks score they all have babies strapped to them. >> one thing that was really important to you was the theme song. >> yes. >> why does this matter? >> i miss the theme song. don't you love theme songs? >> i do actually. what was your favorite? >> so many. "greatest american hero," "cheers." >> "the love boat." ♪ what would you do baby, without us ♪ >> we didn't even plan that. >> oh, come on. >> waiting for it every week. >> come on. crank up the johnny mathis. let's do it. >> basically three guys. you guys all have babies. anthony, you're the only dad in real life. >> only dad, real life dad here. >> you bringing that experience to bear? >> i taught these two how not to hold babies. >> anthony likes to carry babies around by their ankles and wrist.

i don't think you're supposed to. >> came on the show a couple of times, he is the best dad to his kid. met his kids, so cute, but you embarrass them. >> like. >> you embarrass your children. >> there's a cheer that i do. i'm that dad at the game, and i guess i'll have to do it right here. >> oh, boy. >> we didn't practice this so when i say our team, dynamite. >> our time is what? >> dynamite. >> our team is what? >> dynamite. >> our team is tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, boom, dynamite. >> dad, don't come to the game anymore. don't come to the game anymore, dad. >> yeah, yeah, you're mortified. jesse, you are a single dad, right? >> yes. >> you're divorced. how is dating in the dad world for you? >> it's fantastic. >> come on. a lot of people think a baby is an attractive thing. >> it's a thing that a lot of people are going through, a relatable thing, and, you know, i -- that's all i have to say about it. >> yeah. >> a little wing man.

>> and zach, you're the happily married dad of the bunch. >> yes. >> jimmy lynn sigler is your wife? >> jamie-lynn sigler is my wife. >> good west, jamie-lynn sigler and tempestt bledsoe. have necessarya has grown up. >> it's like whistles. >> that's right. >> we could put a bunch of sweaters on. >> kids still in front of a live studio audience. >> you won an emmy the other night. >> very exciting. i freaked out. >> this is your fourth emmy. i guess there will be no living with you now. >> it's all gone to my head, yeah. actually -- first one for me. >> but the show, has gotten three others. >> this for me is like a -- i was getting ready to watch "saturday night live," and they do this emmy thing out in l.a. it's a creative emmy so i wasn't invited to that. didn't go to that. do the show from new york, so when i found out, watching

"saturday night live," with my wife, and -- you're not my wife, but -- >> not anymore. >> not after the cheer. but then i started getting phone calls and e-mails and freaked out and talked to lorne at "saturday night live" and they work so hard over there. one of the best shows in the history of television. >> so "guys with kids," must-watch tv. >> wednesdays, tomorrow night at 8:30, wednesday night. >> world wide. >> it's a family show. watch it with your kids. >> the baby-sitting offers will pour in. >> make some money. >> jimmy, anthony, jesse, zach, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> stay tuned. fall fashions for wimp all sizes coming up after your local news. >> i'll stick for that.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> a few problems to add to the list. route 482 at brought back road, we have an accident there. experts were not bad southbound until you get to padonia road. delays on the north and west side, including on the inner loop approaching liberty towards the j.f.x. 19 miles per hour on the j.f.x. southbound. 16 miles per hour on the west

side outer loop. accident wrapping up on westbound 100. creating some delays at route 10. but to give you a live view of traffic at dulaney valley. prior to this, you will find these delays of 95. j.f.x. at ruxton road, looking at delays towards 28 straight. tony has a check on the forecast. >> beautiful start there is little on the chilly side, but sunshine. it will warm up quickly today. rain across the midwest. illinois back into indiana, those rainshowers will catch up to us tonight and tomorrow. after a chilly start, we will make it into the low-to-mid- 70's.

>> thank you for joining us. another update at 8:56.

we're back now at 8:30 on a tuesday morning. it's the 25th day of september, 2012, and it's another in a string of beautiful days here in new york city. let's keep our fingers crossed that it's nice where you're waking up as well. out on the plaza, some nice folks gathered. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie, al roker and natalie morales, and coming up, we have got a tour of celebrity homes. everyone from an oscar winner, it a sports superstar, have put

their homes on the market recently, and barbara corcoran is here to take us on a tour, and some of these are a tad on the pricey side. >> not surprised. >> you think? >> exactly. >> not the under $250,000 price tag. >> no. >> this one is different. we'll talk fashion. do you want to wear the hottest trends but you don't have the body of a supermodel? well, we'll show you how you can wear some of the season's best looks in plus sizes. >> and turning something old into something new. schools all over the country are changing the way kids learn. so this is going to help them better prepare for their future careers. >> all right. and then a little bit later on. steals and deals. jill martin is back with deep discounts on everything from luggage to jewelry and more, oh, my. >> i like when she takes her suitcase out for a walk. >> let us get a check of the weather from mr. roker. >> all righty. see if it's good traveling weather for you. starting with today. up and down the east coast, going to be gorgeous.

we do have a risk of strong storms in the mid-mississippi river valley. beautiful in the northwest. tomorrow, expect to see some rain moving into the northeast with a few hit or miss thunderstorms. rain back into the central plains. beautiful, sunny, mild in the pacific northwest. hot from the southwest into texas. nice and warm down through the southeast. however, they are still going to have hit or miss thundershowers down in southern florida where they do not need the rain. that's what's going o >> it will turn out to be a pretty nice afternoon. a mixture of sun and clouds. high temperature into the low to mid 70's. don't forget.

can you get that weather any time you need it it. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online, and now let's check in with everybody's favorite uncle. uncle willy. >> good morning, in d.c., the beautiful national cathedral. happy birthday it our buddies. the bishop's garden in the background and you know that's the cathedral. take a will be at our birthday buddies. beautiful, florence clark of the bronx, new york, is 100 years old today. former active in the girl scouts and still works in community affairs. saul rice of pembroke pines, florida, is 100 years old today. loves all kinds of sporting events and was thrilled when his favorite team, the miami heat, did their thing. god love them. jennie depolo, from concord, new hampshire, really nice town. 108 years old today and a reader and gardener, how about that.

and arthur grewe from bellview, iowa, is 104 years old today. secret about longevity, exercising. loves to ride his bicycle all over town. lula gardner from tonasket, washington state. 106 years old today and enjoys watching wrestling on television. she'd like to watch the newsroom wrestle sometimes. they do it all the time for fun. good ole lewis steisguth of normandy beach, new jersey, 100 years old today. a volunteer emt, and at age 93 he saved a man's life with cpr. how about that. always have some good use. that's all. bright shining brightly on our d.c. home. back to new york. >> thank you very much. when we come back, hot fall fashions for women of all shapes and sizes, but first this is "today" on nbc. anncr: their dishonest ads are everywhere.

a west virginia casino spending a fortune... to stop question seven. they don't want competition. the washington post wrote the casino behind the ads is... "most concerned with its own bottom line." and the baltimore sun says it "doesn't have maryland... taxpayers' interests at heart." so when you see these ads remember... they're about what's good for west virginia's casino... not maryland. vote for maryland jobs and schools. vote for question seven.

back now at 8:36. this morning on "today's style," fall trends for plus-sized women. want to wear the latest looks but don't know what brand to buy. nicolet mason is the writer for "marie claire" big girl in the skinny column. >> thanks for having me. >> you write this column every month. >> every month in "marie claire." >> what's the message? >> the message is having fashion for everyone. all women regardless of their size wanted the same fashion and trends, but maybe they don't know how to pull it off, so this is about telling women sizes 14 and up, which is most of america. >> and a lot of designers don't have those sizes. >> exactly. so many sizes cut it off at a size 12, and yet most american women are a 14 or higher, so this is telling those women there are options out there, and they look good. you don't have to be frumpy or wear oversized. you can look chic and amazing. >> and we have four looks this morning that really demonstrate that. our first fall trend is the military look. let's bring out our model

vanessa. >> vanessa in this incredible sheath dress which is a plus-sized brand from the limited. they just launched plus sizes last year, and it's $109. we have the leather look, a great full skirt. she's wearing sleeveless which a lot of women think they can't wear, but, in fact, i think this is much more flattering than having a short sleeve that cuts off awkwardly on the arm. >> is it good with the sleeveless to kind of have it in a little bit, like a halter. >> really cute. >> show a little bit of shoulder. >> and has a great real leather bag that's under $100. >> that's great. >> tell us about the shoes. >> the shoes are fabulous. they are inspired by a designer, a lot more expensive. these are $39.99 from show dazzle. love the price of that. >> vanessa, thank you very much. the next look is the metallic trend. >> calling it metallic. definitely sut. not in-your-face metallic and brocade. she's wearing a fantastic

metallic pant. it's a bronze metallic pant from elloqui, $80, great price point and runway trend. gold and silver versions and you can find that online and this is a skinny jean, transition from beaute color full denim from spring and summer and now she's doing it in metallic. >> got the skinny jean. important to wear a heel wearing a skinny jean? >> don't have to wear a heel. great ankle boots from lane bryant. and great if you're looking for a wide fit, but the key to wearing a skinny pant is wear a loser fitting top. tapered tight look on bottom, balance off the proportions a little, and we have this fabulous top. >> like how you have the belt, too. >> still shows her waist and shows her figure, but it's a little bit of a looser fit to balance out the pant. >> all right, diane, you look great. thank you. our next trend is the color purple. >> right. >> big color this season, right? >> it's huge. the way that we've seen the

trends of tangerine and orange throughout the summer. this season it's purple. purple is the new black. a fabulous shade and the great thing is there's a shade of purple flattering on every single skin tone. >> this is a great silhouette that julie has on right here. >> fantastic. >> is it because it kind of hits right below the knee. >> the length is fantastic, but what i love about this, this is especially fantastic on a more bottom-heavy girl, so we have julie. she has great hints, and what's fabulous about this dress is that it's tight in the bodice and loose and flowy and comfortable at her waist, and this is such a fantastic day to night piece where she can go to work and straight out afterwards. >> really pretty. julie, thank you. for the final trend, the peplum, a ruffle around the waist. >> exactly. >> see this everywhere. a lot of people feel i don't know if i can pull this off. >> intimidating to have a piece of fabric around your waist especially, but it's not adding volume, actually really creating

a beautiful shape and this peplum top from h & m plus-size, and it's a great trend. we have it pared with a fabulous leather pant from lane bryant, 59.95 and this blazer that just brings out everything. >> going to do the peplum like that, the skinny pent or pencil skirt or something. >> exactly. >> all balancing the proportions, more volume at top so we'll wear a tapered pant or pencil skirt. another great way to wear this look. >> all right. let's have all our models come out one more time so we can have a good look at you. thanks so much, nicolet mason. thanks so much for the great advice. the column is called "big girl in a skinny world." and you can find it in "marie claire." >> coming up, a look inside celebrity homes on the market,

but first, this is "today" on nbc.

we're back now at 8:42 with today's real estate. this morning a peek inside some of the celebrity homes that are for sale right now across the country. barbara corcoran is today's real estate contributor. barbara, nice to see you. >> nice to see you, matt. >> some nice spreads here. again, these are a little pricey. let's start with a property owned by oscar-winning actress reese witherspoon. she's put her home in ohai, california on the market. before we get to the market. tell me about ohai, pretty spectacular. >> an hour northwest of l.a., but what's great about this area, no other celebrities there. she has total privacy. a lot of acreage, and she's away from the hustle and bustle and traffic that everybody hates in downtown l.a. >> do we know the price on this property? >> this is a big price tag. it is $10 million, a nice round number, easy to remember.

it's a big country retreat. it was built in 1923, and what's great about this house is she has really left is as pretty as she found it. she's put some improvements in, but it's a really nice working ranch. >> all right. and the highlights when you look at this, what do you like most? i like most the privacy, the land, the trees, and what's great about it, she has lots of pigs, animals, dogs, chickens on that ranch. >> do they come with the property? >> they come and nobody is going to complain. >> cool. let's move on to the east coast here. a miami home owned by new york yankees third baseman alex rodriguez t.carries a $38 million price tag. what does that buy? >> it buys everything it should, and it is worth it. i don't think i've seen a more spectacular home. it's a few blocks from where he used to play shortstop in high school. imagine being him and coming back and building this mansion right on the water with 275 feet of fronta, with two docks, and saying i did it. i mean this, guy must be living this dream. i can't believe he's even selling it.

special amenities like a batting cage. nobody is going to want that, of course, but rip it out. what the heck. >> turn it into a golf driving range. >> look at the views and look at the glass. that's hurricane-proof glass. no way a hurricane will take this house down. this is every guy's dream. >> he's only owned this house for two years, so he's flipping it kind of quickly. does that hurt the asking price? >> you know what it does, it makes people question the asking price. remember, on this house you get bragging rights that guess who lived here before i did? >> speaking of quick turnarounds. new york city-based couple sarah jessica parker and matthew broderick recently listed their greenwich village townhouse. they have never moved into it. >> no. >> but they kind of fixed it, sort of, and for that they want to be rewarded with a whole $5 million profit. so this house here is 25 feet wide and asking $25 million for. it remains to be seen what will happen with this house. beautiful. nothing you would want to change in this house, and it's on one of the best streets in greenwich

village right off fifth avenue. >> people who live in townhouses either love them or they don't because you spend a lot of time on the stairs. >> keeps you in shape. if you're a celebrity, people can find you, so most celebrities just don't ever buy a townhouse because it's too obvious where they live. >> kelsey grammer and his ex-wife camille grammer, put their former primary residence on the market. this one is in malibu, california. i think once you say the word malibu the price goes up. >> of course. think about this price. 17.9 million. why not call it 18 million. they are divorcing. this was their primary residence, and now this house has everything as well. more than anything what i like about this house is its location. it's surrounded by money taps. have you views of the pacific, and you have a nice easy nine bedrooms to keep your friends there. >> nine bedrooms. what's wrong with nine bedrooms. almost five acres of property. a wolfgang puck-designed kitchen. design that had kitchen himself that. demands a premium, okay, and you have a screening room that seats 12. i guess could you have friends,

if you have 12 friends. >> one of those amenities that really brings the price up? screening room people want those? >> expected in that part of the country. if you're rich you have a screening room. >> and if you have a screening room look at movies made by dreamworks animation ceo jeffrey catsburg, selling his park city utah, home. looks like a log cabin but a big one. >> oh, my gosh, more than a log cabin. like calling queen elizabeth a row boat or something. wait until you see the inside of this house. it's spectacular. first of all, it's 14,000 square feet big, and, remember, it's just a weekend retreat. every single thing in this house has been redone by jeffrey and his wife. they have put every single finishing in place themselves, and it's all included. all american west antiques, worth a lot of money, probably about as much as the house itself. >> so it's all furnished? >> all furnished. you walk into that house, it's your house including the blankets on that bed. what's wrong with that? an indoor swimming room, a spa, and most importantly in this

part of the country, direct access to skiing, and who want want to sit on that terrace and look at the universe. >> again, the price tag on that one is $20.5 million asking price. >> that's a lot of money. >> nice digs. barbara corcoran. thank you very much. appreciate it. still ahead, how to tell if your financial adviser is leading you down the wrong path. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

back new at 8:51, and this morning on education nation today, how schools are changing the way they operate to better prepare kids for the future. nbc's chief education correspondent rehema ellis was at the education nation summit at the new york public library. rehema, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. we went to massachusetts to visit a school that's redefining itself to meet students' needs, turning something old into something new. 14-year-old damien negron is a high school sophomore in massachusetts, learning all about autobody repair. >> i'm making new threads for the seat, and i just undercoated the body of the car. >> reporter: at first glance the classes such as welding, carpentry and engineering look like traditional vocational training, but this is not your grandfather's trade school.

damien says working on cars is just part of his preparation to become a pilot. >> i'm learning and getting technical skills and doing stuff like that. >> reporter: worcester technical high has combined the best 21st century vocational education with advanced college prep courses, from statistics to biotechnology women pressive results. once considered the lowest performing high school in the city, today the school has a 96% graduation rate. math proficiency has soared from 4% to 74%, and 77% of students go on to college. >> they have specific skill sets that industries are looking for, but they also have the transcripts so they can apply to a two-year school or four-year school and continue their education. >> reporter: the school also credits a longtime supporter for its turnaround. businessman ted coughlin. he's raised millions of private dollars for this public school, convincing numerous companies

that these kids are worth the investment. >> we couldn't do it without the business community and the financial wherewithal that's needed to assist with some of the major materials here. >> reporter: at this $90 million school, more than half of the 1,400 students here at worcester technical high are female, all heavily invested in the state of the art program and helping to change the perception of what it means to go to a trade school. ♪ girls, girls, won the world >> why not go to high school and learn something out of the trade instead of doing something people don't think girls would normally do. >> reporter: architecture and printing and even a vet center where students are supervised with doctors of tufts university school of veterinary medicine. >> we get to inact with clients

and give the animals vaccines and work with the veterinarian and knowing coming to school, other people might just be in class and i'm doing this, pretty much like a job. it's awesome and a job that i love, it's awesome. >> this place definitely brings back memories. >> reporter: worcester tech grad a anthony duchimo finished college this year making more money than ever imagined. >> working with the cutting-edge technology, computer-based simulations and algorithms out there. >> reporter: anthony gives a lot of credit to what happened in here, worcester technical high, a school giving kids a competitive edge. nationwide, more than 14 million students are enrolled in schools similar to worcester tech. heard a lot of great examples about schools that are working here during the summit, and it's all part of our continuing education nation coverage online. savannah. >> all right. rehema ellis, thank you. if you want to find more on this story, head to

educationnation.com/casestudies, and tomorrow we'll get governor romney's thoughts on our nation's schools. >> we did a little "ask away today." asking questions sent in by viewers. a few more questions here that i just want to get to because we don't want to let these go to waste. here's a good one. al, why don't you take this. if the "today" show were to be moved to another city in the u.s. away from new york, where would you want to do the show every morning? >> chicago. >> why? >> i just love chicago. >> i do, too. >> fun. >> great town. >> chi-town. >> new orleans, bignets. >> matt, who has the biggest boston et, you or your wife? >> signed your wife. >> not even close. >> oh, please. >> i have a big closet. >> wow. and natalie, how do you stay so fit? >> a lot of running, a lot of cycling, swimming, you name it. >> savannah. >> working out. >> savannah, how come you fall down so much? >> why do you always have bruises on your knees?

>> hey, wait a minute that. wasn't one of the questions. >> no, it was. i pencilled it in. >> we have more "ask away" tomorrow. back in a few minutes after your local news and your weather forecast. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. 11 news has learned that acting baltimore city police commissioner anthony barksdale is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence. anthony batts takes over on thursday. the department is not saying why barksdale is taking week but

that he is expected to return to work. he took over the department

>> it is going to turn out to be a nice day. after a chilly start, temperatures warm up fast. mostly sunny skies. we have some rain in the forecast for tomorrow. >> thank you for joining us. another weather update